Playing with Watercolor and Oil Effects

I've never had much time to play around with the special effects you can accomplish in Photoshop, and for some reason yesterday I decided I was in the mood.

I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the amazing photos I have to experiment with from our recent trip home.

I find the watercolor effects more natural looking, but this photo of the baby ducks lent itself to more pronounced brushstrokes.

In the meantime I just felt like sharing some of the fun I'm having learning how to work with layers in Photoshop.

My eyes are strained and my fingers are cramped, but the creative juices are flowing!

Is this one too dark and gloomy?  I should have fixed that first, or does it convey a mood that works?

This one of Signal Hill looks the most like the original photograph, but if you look closely you can see it has almost an illustrated finish.

Don't worry, there are more Newfoundland posts to come, including the one that will feature the story this photo tells.  It was my favorite as far as the effect turned out, very much like a painting and not a photograph and it features the new lift bridge in Placentia as a bonus.  Which one do you like best?